How can privilege conscious white men from bourgeois backgrounds avoid becoming straw men?

Question

...in anarchist actions/movements. Few (in my experience) seem to be given the opportunity to work with others to explore how they might be useful (I appreciate how the tables are turned). Mutual aid and community building are key, but due to the attitude toward their appearance, personality, and background they're often (in my experience) forced to act alone. I've often been told that just having a white face around at actions can deter police brutality. However, much of the negative attitude comes from white anarchist punks.

Answer 1

you're raising a number of issues in this question, but none of them clearly.
there are tons of white middle class anarchists (some would argue most anarchists are w-mc). if you don't want to work with punks, then don't. (or if they don't want to work with you, then accept that.)
if you're looking to use your privilege explicitly, then perhaps you could have some ideas that you present to people (which would depend on your interests, of course). there are plenty of projects that need funding, from food not bombs to publishing.
i don't know what you mean by "becoming straw men". are you saying that your identity becomes a distraction? for whom? from what?
if you have things you want to do/get done, then do them. you will find people who are interested in those things when you demonstrate that you're reliable, i would assume. having money will make that easier, presumably, not harder.